Neuroscience and Neurobiology Commons^™

Mitochondria Dynamics In Microglia During Health, Inflammation, And Aging, Alicia Nicole Pietramale

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Microglia continually surveil the brain, allowing for rapid detection of tissue damage or infection. Microglial metabolism is linked to tissue homeostasis, yet how mitochondria are subcellularly partitioned in microglia and dynamically reorganize during surveillance, injury responses, and phagocytic engulfment in the intact brain has remained unclear. In this dissertation, I combine intravital imaging, ultrastructural analyses, and metabolic and cytoskeletal markers to investigate how mitochondrial organization relates to microglial function across health, inflammation, and aging.

I first show that microglial processes diverge in their mitochondrial content, with some containing multiple mitochondria while others are completely void. This heterogeneous partitioning is conserved …

The Evolution Of Self-Awareness In Conscious Organisms, Robert A. Dielenberg

Journal of Conscious Evolution

Self-awareness in conscious organisms remains an enduring puzzle for philosophers and neuroscientists. This paper proposes a tripartite evolutionary model tracing its emergence through three sequential types: the sensory self (primitive egocentric, valence-tagged awareness of sensory states), the bodily self (external objectification of the body as a distinct entity, evidenced by mirror self-recognition in select species), and the cognitive self (internal objectification of the mind enabling recursive self-transformation). Adopting a monist framework, the model treats consciousness as the biological substrate of delayed neural apperception (the “Delayed Present”), within which selves emerge as increasingly sophisticated models. It distinguishes non-human metacognition—implicit, online regulation—from …

Hsp90 Inhibitor In Reducing Integrated Stress Response In An Experimental Mouse Model Of Spinal Cord Injury, Yousef Abozaid, Aditya Sarkar, Lukasz P. Slomnicki, Michal Hetman

The Cardinal Edge

Spinal cord injury (SCI) initiates a complex cascade of molecular events, including protein misfolding and neuroinflammation, contributing to neural damage and impaired functional recovery. Heat Shock Protein 90 (HSP90), a critical molecular chaperone involved in cellular stress responses, emerges as a promising therapeutic target to mitigate secondary damage after SCI. This study was designed to validate the in-vivo effects of different doses of HSP90 inhibitor, HSP990-i, administered acutely after moderate T9 SCI mouse model. The level of HSP70 protein level is measured through western blot from the injury epicenter. Adult mice underwent experimental contusive SCI at the T9 level, followed …

Hallucinogens For Mood And Anxiety Disorders: A Critical Review Of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies, Georgia Chlebek

The Cardinal Edge

In quite a few people worldwide, there are several mental disorders that prevent the brain from operating in the “proper” way, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) being among the most common. Luckily, there are several medications that are produced and used to treat these disorders, but some medications are hard to access, and others simply don’t help the patient. Firstly, these medications take time to study and prove safe for public use, though in some cases time is not readily available. In other cases, these medications are going through shortages and becoming increasingly difficult for patients to access …

Disrupted Nuclear Function And Nucleocytoplasmic Transport In Parkinson’S Disease, Ichiro M. Matoba

The Cardinal Edge

No abstract provided.

The Sentience Of The Horse And The Philosophy Of Natural Horsemanship: Implications For Hrd Leadership, Rob E. Carpenter

Human Resource Development Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper advances a biologically grounded philosophy of leadership through the lens of Natural Horsemanship. It reframes leadership as an embodied, sentient process rather than a purely cognitive or behavioral construct. Drawing from neuroscience, affective biology, sociology, and human resource development (HRD), it proposes that the horse–human relationship provides a living model for relational intelligence. The horse’s exquisite attunement to human emotion—mediated through limbic regulation and bio-behavioral synchrony—reveals that influence arises not from authority but from coherence. Leadership, like horsemanship, is a reciprocal act of co-regulation in which trust, safety, and communication are revealed through physiology before language. By examining …

Circuit And Synaptic Mechanisms Of Methamphetamine Induced Cognitive Deficits During Abstinence: Roles Of The Perirhinal-Prefrontal Pathway And The Nucleus Reuniens, Sarah Goldsmith

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Cognitive deficits during abstinence are a hallmark of methamphetamine (meth) use and indicative of negative treatment outcomes. In rats, both long access meth self-administration and meth binge produce recognition memory deficits due to drug-induced plasticity within the perirhinal cortex (PRH). PRH projections are numerous and include the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the Nucleus Reuniens (NRe). In the first study, the role of the PRH-mPFC reciprocal circuit in novel object recognition memory was investigated by infusing an rgAAV encoding GFP-tagged Cre recombinase into the PRH or the mPFC. Following surgery, rats explored objects. During exploration, PRH neurons receiving input from …

Ferroptosis As A Pathological Driver In Niemann-Pick Disease Type C, Kayla Linda Sanchez

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Niemann–Pick Disease Type C (NPC) is a hereditary neurodegenerative disease characterized by selective cell vulnerability, particularly affecting cerebellar anterior Purkinje neurons. These neurons exhibit a distinctive pattern of degeneration due to the loss of NPC1 and/or NPC2 protein function, progressively extending towards posterior cerebellar regions. Historically, research has described NPC as a disorder of intracellular cholesterol handling; however, cholesterol-lowering therapies have not effectively prevented neurological deterioration, and the mechanisms underlying selective neuronal vulnerability remain unclear. Ferroptosis, previously referred to as oxytosis, is a regulated form of cell death driver by iron-induced lipid peroxidation. It has been implicated in several neurodegenerative …

Situation Mouse All Floxed Up: Exploring Phenotypic Abnormalities In Bdnf Floxed Mice, Marissa A. Burkman

All NMU Master's Theses

Animal research is a contentious topic in both the scientific and general communities.  It is essential that our animal models accurately and predictably depict intended phenotypes, necessitating careful colony monitoring and maintenance.  Volunteer animal staff in the Ottem Laboratory became concerned when mice with LoxP sites flanking the BDNF gene depicted anxiety-like behaviors such as aggression, difficulty handling, and increased agitation.  Though many studies have noted behavioral and phenotypic abnormalities related to large gene inserts, few have noted abnormalities with small gene inserts such as the 34 bp LoxP site.  Brandt (2018) performed a three-stage behavioral protocol on these mice …

Increased Neuronal Activity Restores Circadian Function In Drosophila Models Of C9orf72-Als/Ftd, Sho Inami, Benjamin P. Jenny, Oghenerukevwe Akpoghiran, Sara I. Gallagher, Alexandra K. Strich, Ayako Tonoki, Davide Trotti, Aaron R. Haeusler, Kyunghee Koh

Farber Institute for Neuroscience Faculty Papers

Circadian rhythm disruptions are common across neurodegenerative diseases, but their link to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) remains unclear. The C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansion is the most prevalent genetic cause of ALS/FTD. Here, we used Drosophila models expressing pathogenic arginine-rich dipeptides (PR or GR) or GGGGCC hexanucleotide repeats to investigate circadian deficits in C9orf72-ALS/FTD. We found that circadian rhythmicity and period length were altered in a repeat number-, dosage-, expression pattern-, and age-dependent manner. Additionally, we observed lower levels of the neuropeptide PDF, a key regulator of free-running circadian rhythms, as well as decreased projection complexity and …

Cerebral Documents And Algorithmic Sensemaking: Searching For Expressions In Human And Artificial Cognitive Collaborations, Rebekah L. Cowell

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Generative Artificial Intelligences (AIs) and current advanced large language models (LLMs) are algorithmically designed to generate text-based conversations as conversational agents (CAs), by replicating human language and conversational communication. Pairing human cognition with generative computationally coded cognition. We have never been here before: cerebral and artificial information collaborations and processing producing expressions that may or may not become visible as second-hand/secondary source documents.

Sensemaking or sense(un)making is a unique autonomous human drive cognitively, our information processing is sensemaking in action and expressions and articulations are evidence of the sensemaking cycle. Documentation [expressed or articulated through various mediums] are a product …

Itbs Stimulation Of The Bilateral Ifg/Ipl Alters The Oscillatory Pattern In Asd, Mitra Assadi, Reza Koiler, Ryan Ally, Richard Fischer, Rod C. Scott

Farber Institute for Neuroscience Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by impairments in social communication, reciprocity, and adaptive behavior. Converging neurobiological evidence suggests that these clinical features arise from aberrant connectivity and dysregulated neuronal oscillations across distributed brain networks. In particular, dysfunction within the mirror neuron regions, concentrated in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and inferior parietal lobule (IPL), has been implicated in deficits of imitation, empathy, and social cognition in ASD. Non-invasive neuromodulation using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has shown modest behavioral benefits in ASD. However, most studies apply the conventional protocols targeting the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The …

Obesity Does Not Significantly Impact Clinical Outcomes Following Anterior Cervical Discectomy And Fusion, Ishan Shah, Alejandro Perez-Albela, Riya Shah, Charles Furlong, Puru Sadh, John Czerwein, Alan Daniels, Bryce A Basques

SKMC Student Presentations and Publications

BACKGROUND: With obesity rates rising among patients undergoing anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) and more procedures shifting to outpatient settings, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of body mass index (BMI) on complications, sagittal alignment, and patient-reported outcomes (PROs).

METHODS: A prospectively maintained database of 302 patients who underwent ACDF for myelopathy or radiculopathy between 2020 and 2022 at a single academic center was analyzed. Patients were stratified into four BMI categories: normal (18.5-< 25), overweight (25-< 30), obese class I (30-< 35), and obese class II/III (≥35). Collected data included demographics, comorbidities, perioperative variables, radiographic measures (cSVA, Cobb angle, etc.), and PROs (VAS, NDI). Univariate regression compared demographics, alignment, and PROs, while multivariate analyses assessed complications and perioperative factors.

RESULTS: BMI was not independently associated with higher rates of postoperative complications, including adjacent segment disease, subsidence, reoperation, or other adverse events. Patients in …

How To Search For The Engram: Optogenetics And Network Dynamics, Claudia Garcia Jou

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Memories are thought to be encoded by ensembles of neurons called "engram cells", because their artificial activation with optogenetics leads to the behavioral expression of a memory. However, the physiological mechanisms that mediate this process remain unknown. In this thesis, I investigate how optogenetic stimulation of memory-tagged cells changes neuronal firing, spatial coding, and the geometry of neural manifolds. I used an active place avoidance task and a foraging task to label engram cells in the dorsal hippocampus with Channelrhodopsin2 (ChR2). I then recorded the hippocampal activity response to optogenetic stimulation in mice under anesthesia, head-fixed, or freely moving. I …

Local Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (Ace2) Enzymatic Activity Modulates Cholinergic Interneuron Function In The Dorsolateral Striatum, Aria R. Walls

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The renin angiotensin system (RAS) is an ancestrally ancient peptidergic signaling pathway best known for its role regulating blood pressure in the periphery. However, its presence and importance in the central nervous system has more recently been identified and is less well understood. Previous work shows RAS is expressed in the nigrostriatal pathway of the basal ganglia and has been implicated in basal ganglia disorders including Parkinson’s disease (PD) and levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID). Interestingly, the canonical and noncanonical arms of the RAS pathway produce opposite effects on PD disease vulnerability and progression. The shift from the neurodegenerative canonical RAS to …

Somatosensory Cortex Responses To Illusory Touch In A Visual-Tactile Integration Task, Aditi Surendra Pawar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Perceptual illusions arising from multisensory integration reveal how the brain constructs subjective experience from sensory input, and provide a powerful means of allowing the investigation of neural processes that track perceptual interpretation rather than physical stimulation alone. While visual illusions induced by auditory or tactile stimuli have been fairly well studied, the neural mechanisms underlying visually-induced illusory touch remain unclear. This study investigated whether illusory tactile perception engages the somatosensory cortex in a manner similar to veridical touch. Twenty healthy adults participated in an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study while performing a tactile numerosity judgment task. Each trial …

Less Self, Less Fear: Manipulation Of The Self Using Virtual Out-Of-Body Experiences To Alter The Conscious And Unconscious Experience Of Emotion, Dillon Freed

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study investigated whether adopting an out-of-body perspective in virtual reality (VR) reduces subjective and physiological emotional responses to vicarious pain stimuli compared to inhabiting a first-person embodied avatar. Twenty-four participants experienced two counterbalanced VR conditions: (1) Avatar Embodiment (AV), in which they inhabited a photorealistic avatar from a first-person perspective, and (2) a Virtual Out-of-Body Experience (vOBE), in which they observed their avatar from a displaced third-person perspective. In both conditions, participants viewed a standardized series of vicarious pain images while electrodermal activity was recorded and self-report measures of embodiment (AV) and disembodiment (the vOBE state), emotional intensity (a …

Humanity Is Evolving Its Consciousness: The Role Of Archetypal Energies As Guides During An Unfolding Weeding Out And Alignment Process, Carroy U. Ferguson

Psychology Faculty Publication Series

Humanity is evolving its consciousness at individual and collective levels.  Given these seemingly tumultuous times, as of this writing (January 2026), to make such a statement may sound like a strange thing to say.  However, I suggest that if you are alive today and if you are reading these words, these are the very times for which you were born—to assist Humanity as it evolves its consciousness with your unique gifts, whatever they may be.  That is, this period of our individual and collective human being-ness may be characterized as an unfolding period of weeding out and alignment with the …

An Impact Assessment Of The Effectiveness Of Utilizing Informal Health Communication Interventions To Spread Health Recommendations And Change Public Perception, Lina Mohamed Ezzat Ahmed Abdel Mawgoud

Theses and Dissertations

Brain health is an increasingly urgent but critically under-addressed public health priority in Egypt and the wider MENA region. Despite its centrality to aging, productivity, and overall quality of life, public understanding of brain health remains limited, and stigma continues to shape responses to dementia and cognitive decline. This study evaluates the effectiveness of informal, culturally adapted health communication as a tool to shift perception, increase awareness, and promote behavior change among non-medically trained adults in Egypt.

Grounded in global evidence on cognitive reserve, neuroplasticity, and the life-course approach to brain health, the intervention translated expert-informed brain health recommendations into …

Wavelet-Based Mechanomyographic Intensity Responses To Sustained Tasks Anchored To Low Versus High Ratings Of Perceived Exertion, Dolores G. Ortega, Robert W. Smith, Jocelyn E. Arnett, Tyler J. Neltner, Trevor D. Roberts, Justin S. Pioske, Richard J. Schmidt, Terry J. Housh

Journal for Sports Neuroscience

Purpose: This study examined the effects of sustained, isometric forearm flexion tasks anchored to ratings of perceived exertion of 2 (RPE2_FT) versus 8 (RPE8_FT) on the wavelet-based mechanomyographic (MMG) intensity responses from pretest and posttest maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVICs) as well as the time course of changes in the MMG intensity responses throughout the sustained tasks. Methods: Eleven men (mean±SD: age=20.9±2.3 yrs) performed MVICs before and after the sustained tasks. The wavelet analyses decomposed the MMG signals onto a set of 11 wavelet bands (WBs). Repeated measures ANOVAs were used to analyze the MMG intensity …